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jumpwally

Mr. Douglas

By jumpwally, in Skydiving History & Trivia

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BillyVance    34

BillyVance
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I would like to see Mr D flying again. Wonder how much it would cost to fix it? Too much, I'd guess, since it's been sitting there for at least 5 years, give or take. [:/]

Wanna make a small fortune?
Start with a big one, restore a DC-3 and try flying for profit.

Aviatin' don't pay beans. How many are willing to pay $75 for a jump outta Mr D?

Man... I never paid more than regular jump fare out of Mr D... Of course, I only jumped it two weekends, one at Tullahoma and the other at Skydive Chicago in the summer of '97 where I was front float on Mr D on their 70+ formation ways. Hardest thing I ever did for exits.... :S
"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

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RogerRamjet    0

RogerRamjet
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I would like to see Mr D flying again. Wonder how much it would cost to fix it? Too much, I'd guess, since it's been sitting there for at least 5 years, give or take. [:/]

Wanna make a small fortune?
Start with a big one, restore a DC-3 and try flying for profit.

Aviatin' don't pay beans. How many are willing to pay $75 for a jump outta Mr D?

Does it cost more to operate an old radial powered aircraft like the DC-3 than the new turbine aircraft (serious question as I really don't know)?

Without investigating, I would have thought it was cheaper...

-----------------------
Roger "Ramjet" Clark
FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519

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jonstark    8

jonstark



Does it cost more to operate an old radial powered aircraft like the DC-3 than the new turbine aircraft (serious question as I really don't know)?

Without investigating, I would have thought it was cheaper...



Hey Roger,

Consider a couple of factors...

1. Fuel costs $4.50/gal and you're burning 75-100 gallons per hour in a slow climbing a/c. Ferry time too at a lesser burn rate.
2. You NEVER know when the engines are going to need maintenance, break down or grenade. Being unreliable is eventually going to cost you loads no matter how small the maintenance issue involved. It could be a simple and cheap cracked exhaust riser which you can't get to without removing a couple cylinders and half the baffling and losing a day's flying. It could be a $50,000 overhaul. There are more hours of routine maintenance required for each hour flown in an old/round engined a/c than a turbine powered one.

These two factors, unreliability and cost of operations led to their demise in skydiving. Add to those a lack of capable tailwheel pilots, lack of parts, lack of experienced techs, aging of the fleet, etc.

I miss Mr D too. I got my first thousand jumps out of him.

I used to shrimp and could make good money when gas cost $.50-.70/gal. My shrimp would cost too much to sell for me to make any money now. The same as a DC3 having to charge enough to pay his way. Didn't a DC3 jump at WFFC cost $75 last time? Luckily I was able to sell my boat. Can Mark sell Douglas?

jon

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BillyVance    34

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Can Mark sell Douglas?



Probably not as a whole, but he could sell parts off of it for other DC-3s still running, provided those parts are still airworthy. Doesn't Skydive Arizona and Perris Valley still have DC-3s flying?
"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

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